Naijasportsgrill.com.ng begin our daily countdown to the Aiteo Cup final as CLEMENT NWANKPA JR brings to the fore a tactic that could be Pillars Achilles heel.

A lot is at stake as Rangers and Kano Pillars square up for the Aiteo Cup final at the brand new Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on October 24. A first grade facility hosting two traditional clubs, surely this should be a final to be remembered for many years to come.

The stakes are raised higher considering the fact that both teams are hungry for the title. Who will win this?

It will be down to the tactics. The two coaches must be up to the task. Ibrahim Musa for Pillars and Rangers’ Gbenga Ogunbote are two coaches who are worth their onions. How they approach the match will be key.

There is a difference between a Cup final and a league game. One is a winner-takes-all scenario while the other could be prosecuted with an eye on the next fixture.

The ability of these coaches to know the difference in both situations will be key. Incidentally, these are two experienced coaches who don’t need to be told the demands of the occasion.

At Pillars, Musa enjoys playing out from the back. It is for this reason that David Obiazo is the preferred first choice ahead of Danladi Isa.

In the business of the sweeping keeper, Obiazo is one of the best in the domestic scene.

His footworks are delights to watch and he enjoys those dribbles and shot passes to teammates. Sometimes he gets caught in possession but his coaches are unperturbed.

Assistant coach, Friday Christopher once told naijasportsgrill.com.ng; “Obiazo is our own Ederson (Manchester City keeper). We told him that if you dribble and lose the ball, dribble again”.

He is central to the way the team plays and they are not willing to compromise that pattern. They have an assemblage of midfielders willing to be with the ball.

So when Obiazo is with the ball, he is never short of players who will be willing to receive the ball. The likes of Nzube Anaezemba, Ikenna Hillary and Allassan Ibrahim will fall back to central defense positions to get the ball from Obiazo.

Pillars dominating possession is the platform needed to tee up the dangerous attacking duo of Nyima Nwagua and Junior Lokosa, arguably the best attacking combo in the land.

As witnessed in the semi-final against Katsina United, Obiazo, though a delight to behold dribbling and passing, rarely does it without the clangers.

On a couple of occasions, he was caught in possession but Katsina failed to take advantage. Pillars may not be lucky against another team.

Will Musa stick to his tactic of playing out from the back or will he ditch it for the simple reason of getting the job done in Asaba? Will Musa chose to play beautiful football and entertain the crowd at the expense of an opportunity Pillars have yearned for since 1991 when they lost 2-3 to El-Kanemi in the final?

The fact is that Rangers’ coach, Gbenga Ogunbote is experienced enough to know Pillars’ weakness and how to take advantage. This writer is also aware of some of Ogunbote’s assistants, who are cerebral enough to identify Pillars’ loophole if their boss doesn’t take note.

The Flying Antelopes have a scouting coach, Gabriel Ezema, whose assignment is to assemble tapes of every opponent, study and identify their strengths and weaknesses and transmit same to the head coach. For a team to be this detailed, no chances should be taken against them.

Pillars should expect Rangers to press high up the pitch in order to put pressure on the sweeping keeper, Obiazo. In the young Ugochukwu Ugwuoke and Bright Silas , Rangers have fast forwards who would run at Obiazo to force him into hurried passes or dribbles. The idea will be to force him into misdirected passes and try to pounce.

Will Musa fall for this? Will he vary his formations just to get the desired result? This is a final and there wouldn’t be any opportunity to remedy the situation on a latter day. It is yet to be known the next time Pillars will come this far. It has taken them 27 years to get to the final. Will they risk this chance with a sweeping keeper?

Playing out from the back could be Pillars undoing in this game. In the words of the great Pele; “No two matches are the same”. This occasion calls for carefulness and less gambles. It isn’t a league tie. It is a cup final.

“It is not he who danceth with her. It is he who taketh her home”.

Will Pillars choose to dance all night with this beautiful lady only for Rangers to take her home as soon as the party is over? Will the Sai Masu Gida opt to keep it simple, play less to the gallery, forget about displaying their amazing dance steps to the lady and focus on taking her home?

_________________The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

Rangers International FC are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to win the Aiteo Cup as the Flying Antelopes are already in Asaba for the final against Kano Pillars reports naijasportsgrill.com.ng.

This is even as Kano Pillars will camp in Benin before moving into Asaba.

After breaking a 32 year jinx by winning the NPFL in 2016, Rangers would aim to win the Aiteo Cup for the first time since beating DIC Bees in 1983.

To actualise this, they believe early acclimatisation to Asaba will be crucial. It is also believed that this should help them garner enough fan base ahead of the big day.

They arrived the Delta state capital on Wednesday and are training at St. Patrick’s Secondary School, a grass pitch Rangers assistant coach Gabriel Ezema described as “lush green”.

His words; “We needed the players to come in early, settle down to the weather, food, environment and also see the stadium because it is a brand new stadium. No Nigerian league player will claim to have played there, so it is important that the boys have enough view of the stadium and get used to it.

“All this is building up to us having a psychological edge. You know what people see is the football played on the pitch. But a lot goes on in the mind. We want our boys to win that one played in the mind first before they enter the pitch”.

He continued; “It will also help the boys to concentrate on the immediate task. There is a lot of hype and expectations around this match and these have led to positive pressure at home (Enugu). If these boys are in Enugu, they will be distracted so we want them to stay here and focus only on the game”.

Already Anambra state government has mobilised to ensure the Enugu state representatives are not short of support.

To this end, the Willy Obiano-led government is said to be making arrangements to deploy 10 buses to take fans to the neighbouring Asaba to cheer Rangers.

In the same vein, Pillars are not short of motivation from the Kano state government as government has paid outstanding salaries and bonuses amounting to N7m.

To book a place in the final, Rangers beat Nasarawa United 4-2 in the semi-final while Pillars beat Katsina United 4-1 on penalties after 2-2 in regulation time.

The final is billed for the newly constructed Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba on October 24.

_________________The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

I believe the issue is about fixture conflicts that invoked Enyima at the time and also CAF deadline for Cup registration.

_________________The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

_________________*** Every child is A STAR! ***SUPER EAGLES - Fly Above the Storm!!!----------------------------------------------------------------"If you are tribalistic you have no right to complain about racism!!!"* Kingsley Moghalu * Omoyele Sowore * Fela Durotoye *

Anambra State Governor, Willy Obiano, has thrown his full weight behind the title ambitions of five time F.A/Aiteo Federation Cup 2018, Rangers International F.C by making provision of over twenty buses to convey fans to Asaba to cheer the club to victory against Kano Pillars F.C in the final match of the oldest competition in the land.

This much was revealed by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Matters, Honorable Chika Nzelu.

Nzelu, a two-time national chairman of Rangers International Supporters Club, said that the club was not just a football team but a way of life and religion for the Ibo extraction in the country.

“After our triumph in the 2016 Nigeria Professional Football League after a 32 years wait, we celebrated a lot. And from all indications, the celebration will continue on October 24 in Asaba.

He noted that the victory over Nasarawa United in Kano, in the semi-final stage, has set the stage for yet another monumental celebration.

He said: “My boss, Governor Willy Obiano is already making plans to ensure that Rangers Supporters from the eastern states are made available to transport soccer fans from Awka and Onitsha and other parts of the states to Asaba to cheer Rangers to victory.

“Our governor is an ardent supporter of Rangers and there is great opportunity for him to watch the match live with members of his cabinet,” Honorable Nzelu, revealed.

Chief Benson EjinduCIC old boy & Eze-Ome-ogor I of Oba

Meanwhile, as Rangers International F.C push for a sixth trophy in the finals of 2018 annual championship inside the main bowl of the Stephen Keshi stadium, Asaba, a U.S based philanthropist and Grand Patron of Ex-Rangers International Footballers’ Association, Chief Benson Ejindu, has promised a huge cash reward to the team if they are crowned champions.

Chief Ejindu who made this promise through his very close confident and former manager of Nitel Vasco Dagama F.C of Enugu, Diewait Ikpechukwu, at the weekend said that he was very glad that the ‘Flying Antelopes’ are in their first FA Cup final in over a decade and promised to splash cash gifts on the players, coaches, management team and all that contributed to the success of the team.

“I have never doubted the strength, belief and unity that exist in the club. I am really glad with their achievement thus far and challenge them to go a step further to win the trophy for us all as we have waited long enough to drink with the cup again. I shall surprise them with a great package bigger than what was witnessed two years ago when they won the league diadem,” stated the U.S based business man.

Chief Ejindu stated further that: “I have been following their progress since the national championship commenced and strongly believes that Kano Pillars can’t stop the Coal City Boys who are representing a great race, culture and religion. As soon as the final ends and Rangers are handed the trophy, the team will hear from me and my friends who are wishing the lads good luck in the final.”

It would be recalled that the Anambra State-born philanthropist hosted the Enugu side to a grand dinner in 2016 after breaking a thirty-two year League title jinx and parted with more than two million naira to the players after that league triumph while also pushing to establish a Rangers Hall of Fame to cater for the needs of former players of the club.

_________________The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."

COUNTDOWN TO AITEO CUP 2018: RANGERS TARGET A SIXTH BITE OF THE CHERRY

BY OKONKWO OKOLIE, RANGERS’ MEDIA OFFICER.

After a very long time of groping in the football wilderness for over three decades, five-time Nigerian F.A /Aiteo cup champions, Rangers International F.C, who arguably is the most successful football club in the country, will be aiming at a sixth bite at the cherry as they trade tackles with Kano Pillars in the final match of this year’ competition.

Since overcoming defunct D.I.C Bees F.C of Kaduna on penalties in 1983, the ‘Flying Antelopes’ have seen the ‘Promise Land’ on three occasions but were denied entry twice by defunct Dolphins F.C and Niger Tornadoes F.C in the years 2004, 2007 and 2000.

However, this season, especially after the FIFA World cup 2018 break, the Coal city landlords have turned in their A-game which has drawn applause from fans at various stadia they have played and even more from supporters of opposing teams.

It would be recalled that when the principal financiers of five time F.A/Aiteo cup champions, the Enugu State government under the leadership of Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, unveiled vastly travelled and experienced gaffer, Coach Olugbenga Ogunbote to steer the ship of the ‘Flying Antelopes’ in the current season, the coach simply said in his inaugural address to the media, “…I hope to take Rangers to an appreciable position…”

It is a known fact that the Ijebu-Ode born tactician did not get it going as he wished, plummeting to two straight losses at the start of the NPFL season, before bouncing back to stake a claim to bragging rights with early pace setters but the abrupt end of the league cut shot all the dreams of the coach, players, backroom staff, management and millions of supporters all over the world.

With his wealth of experience, the G.M/CEO of Rangers, Prince Davidson Owumi, board chairman, Chief Festus Onuh and all with the ‘Never Say Die’ spirit of the club pulled resources together with the coaches and players hence this final appearance, the fourth in the millennium.

After a nervy start in the Aiteo cup which saw the Enugu side rely on the lottery of penalty kicks to edge out minnows, Niger Tornadoes Feeders 5-4 after regulation time ended goalless, the Okey Odita captained side have grown in confidence to brush aside other opponents including defending champions, Akwa United F.C, who despite taking the lead in a quarter-final cracker in Kano surrendered their lead and ultimately their title after a 4-2 penalty shootout loss to the aspiring champions.

By far, the most outstanding performance of Rangers in the run-up to Wednesday’ final match inside the main bowl of Stephen Keshi stadium, Asaba, Delta state, was the incredible come-from-behind win over Nasarawa United who took a commanding two goals lead at the half hour mark in a semi-final duel but succumbed to the hard fighting spirit of the Enugu boys who ran away with a 4-2 victory.

In between these victories were two drawn games at the group stage against Supreme Court F.C of Abuja and Sunshine Stars after a nail biting 2-1 success over former coach, Imama Amapakabo, who led El-Kanemi Warriors to the party.

In youth professionals, Ifeanyi Okoro and Ugwuoke Ugochukwu, the ‘Flying Antelopes’ can boast of an Austin Okocha and Rashidi Yekini like combination going forward while counting on the vast experience of irrepressible captain, Okey Odita, former Super Eagles dribbling wiz-kid, Felix Ogbuke and CHAN Eagles midfield dynamo, Ugonna Uzochukwu who helped himself to a brace in the semi-final clash.

Statistically, the ‘Flying Antelopes’ have not done poorly going forward as they have been able to find the back of the opponents’ net eleven times while the backline has been cracked five times in open play with Ugochukwu Ugwuoke having three to his name while the goalkeeping department has been able to keep three clean sheets in seven matches played.

There will be no lacking of supporters at the stadium when the ‘Gburugburu Boys’ would be crowned champions as the executive governors of Enugu and Anambra states are expected to be on ground to witness the crowning of an iconic club, an identity of a race, a religion, a culture and the hope of the new generation, Rangers International F.C.

At the end of proceedings it shall be chants of Holy! Holy!! Holy!!! Enugu Rangers is another Champion!!!!!!!!!!

The Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba will on Wednesday become the 14th arena to host the Nigerian national cup final match.

The national cup, now called the Aiteo Cup, began as Governor’s Cup at the Onikan Stadium which was then known as Association Ground. It hosted the national final under different names from 1945 to 1972 as it changed names from Association Ground to King George V and later to Lagos City Stadium.

The arena now being rebuilt, never hosted the final under its present name of Onikan Stadium, a nomenclature it adopted after the old structure was pulled down in 1974 and rebuilt by Lateef Jakande’s government in the early 1980s.

It last hosted the then Challenge Cup in 1972 in an ill-tempered match between Mighty Jets and the then Bendel Insurance. The match ended 2-2 and had to be replayed. It was the last time a national final match was held at the water-front arena.

For the first time, the final was moved out of Lagos to Ibadan at the then Liberty Stadium, now renamed Obafemi Awolowo Stadium. The 1974 final was played at the newly built National Stadium, Lagos where successive editions were held uninterrupted till the 1988 edition which held at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan.

The fifth stadium to host the final match was Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi in 1989. It was in Bauchi that history was made when for the first time in 36 years; a club from the North won the national Cup.

The Bauchi stadium went on to host in 1994. Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi was the sixth host in 1992. It hosted again in 2008.

Sports Village Square recalls that the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna in 1993 became the seventh host. Since then, the arena that was inaugurated on August 2, 1964 hosted again in 1997 and 2003.

The eighth host arena was Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna in 1998. Ogbemudia Stadium hosted in 2004 as the ninth arena while Liberation Stadium, now renamed Yakubu Gowon Stadium hosted the following year.

The MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta became the 10th stadium to host the then FA Cup in 2006. For the first time, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos hosted the final in 2007 a role it repeatedly played in 2009 and from 2011 to 2016.

The 12th stadium to host the final match was Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano in 2010. Last year when Aiteo acquired the title rights, Agege Stadium in Lagos hosted the final match which till today is the highest profiled football match at the compact arena.

Stephen Keshi Stadium, which was initially the Asaba Township Stadium, was renamed after the former Super Eagles’ skipper and coach when he led Nigeria to with the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.

The 22,000 capacity arena which was commissioned earlier this year hosted the 2018 African Athletics Championship.

_________________The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

http://www.thenff.com/2018/10/asaba-on- ... aiteo-cup/The city of Asaba, capital of Delta State must be fully ready with its Big Heart on Wednesday evening as two of the best –supported football clubs in the land tango in the final of the AITEO Cup 2018 men’s competition at the Stephen Keshi Stadium.

Named after Nigeria’s longest –serving Senior Men Football Team captain who also coached the team to win the Africa Cup of Nations title on away ground, the newly –renovated arena will become the 14th venue to host the 73 –year old glamour National Football Cup.

It could not have been a more fitting final, with Rangers – one of the truly traditional powerhouse teams in the country with a robust history – and Pillars both in flaming forms at the moment with some of the best players in the domestic scene on their books.

The Flying Antelopes with a large following across the federation will be led out by ageless defender Okey Odita, and there are also Semiu Liadi and Isaac Loute, as well as Ugochukwu Ugwuoke, Bright Silas, Ifeanyi George and Ugonna Uzochukwu.

Rangers, who won the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup in 1977, and are five –time winners of the AITEO Cup under its previous names of Challenge Cup and FA Cup, have not taken home the most glamorous diadem in the land since beating DIC Bees of Kaduna on penalties inside the National Stadium, Lagos 35 years ago.

The lines from above may just inspire the boys from Enugu, as it can be recalled that the team made good in the elite League two years ago after waiting for 32 years.

Yet, Kano Pillars would not be push –overs in any way. As Pillars, they would be aiming to take home the title for the first time, after losing to El-Kanemi Warriors 2-3 in the 1991 final played also at the National Stadium, Lagos. Though, a team styled Kano XI became the first team from the northern part of the country to win the Cup after defeating Lagos Dynamos 2-1 at the Association Ground 65 years ago.

It would then take another 36 years for another team from the northern sector to triumph, when BCC Lions – coached by Amodu Shaibu of blessed memory – shocked Iwuanyanwu Nationale by the odd goal at the Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi in 1989.

Pillars’ biggest name on the sheet on Wednesday could be Junior Lokosa, the 2017 NPFL goal king who came close to making the cut for Nigeria’s 2018 FIFA World Cup final squad.

However, there are also equally dangerous customers. Odita will be confronted promptly in the tunnel by another ageless performer, midfield ace Rabiu Ali, likely to lead out Pillars, and artistes like Nyima Nwagua, Emmanuel Anyanwu, Nzube Anaezemba and Hillary Ikenna are match winners on their day.

Last year’s final, which marked the first time it would be called AITEO Cup following the acquisition of the naming right by Nigeria’s leading energy solution group, was at the Agege Stadium and Akwa United of Uyo prevailed over Niger Tornadoes after penalty shoot –out under floodlights.

Wednesday’s final would also be under floodlights, with the game to kick off at 6pm. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State is expected to be installed in the VVIP Box with his Enugu and Kano State counterparts – Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Umar Abdullahi Ganduje respectively. President of the NFF and CAF 1st Vice President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick and the full compliment of members of his Executive Committee will join them.

Leading Nigerian music stars Patoranking (Okorie Patrick Nnaemeka), Phyno and Seyi Seyi (Deborah Joshua) will entertain guests before hostilities kick off on the lush turf.